by David Jackson, USA TODAY

by David Jackson, USA TODAY

The fallout from the massacre of 20 elementary school children and seven adults in Newtown, Conn. -- and the calls for a government response to the issue of gun violence -- may well be pushing both sides to reach a new debt reduction agreement and get the issue behind them.

"I think both sides would agree to that," said House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio. "This is a difficult time for Americans. That's why, while we continue to have conversations with the White House, I've continued to have hope that we can reach an agreement.

"It's not a time to put Americans through more stress."

White House spokesman Jay Carney didn't dispute the suggestion.

President Obama believes the American people want lawmakers "to work together to do important things" for the economy, Carney said. If the common grief over an event like the shooting "brings us a little closer together," he said, that can be a good thing.